The meeting was officially opened by Dr. Baboucarr Jaw (Chief Animal Health Officer) on behalf of the Director of AU-IBAR Prof Ahmed El-Sawalhy.

The objective of the meeting were to:

Review reports of scientific, ad hoc and code commissions and in particular proposed changes to the codes which will be submitted to the OIE’s Terrestrial Animal Health Standards Commission and the Aquatic Animal Health Standards Commission meetings in February 2018 in order to:

Propose common written comments and position for the African continent on these proposed amendments

Endorse a global approach to strengthen African common position and improve participation all along the OIE standard setting process.

Harmonize processes of consultation on OIE standards at national level, including ways of involving the private sector.

The Meeting resulted in the formulation of draft common positions on 19 draft standards on animal and aquatic health. The positions will be considered during the February 2018 meeting of the Terrestrial Animal Health Standards Commission and the Aquatic Animal Health Standards Commission.

The meeting was facilitated under the auspices of the Standards and Trade Secretariat (STS) for Animal Health and Food Safety and the Animal Health Unit of AU-IBAR. The STS was established to facilitate the effective participation of African countries in the activities of the OIE and the Codex Alimentarius Commission during the formulation of international standards on animal health and food safety, and in the negotiations of the WTO-SPS Committee. The overall objective of the STS is to promote food security and market access of Africa’s agricultural products to regional and international markets by supporting Member States to establish effective food safety and animal health controls.